1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a process for producing copy protection for an electronic circuit, in particular an integrated circuit, and to an electronic component having copy protection.
2. Description of Related Art
The complexity of electronic circuits, in particular integrated circuits, is becoming more and more complicated on account of ongoing technical development. This brings into play product pirates, who uncover an integrated circuit from the housing in order to analyze it and to abuse the results against the manufacturer's will, and in particular to copy the integrated circuit.
This problem is of particular relevance to electronic circuits for which the manufacturer has a high level of interest in maintaining secrecy, such as for example circuits for decrypting encrypted signals, in particular for pay-TV and plastic chip cards.
Although chips are typically encapsulated in housings or the like, these housings can be removed again by suitable means and therefore do not offer sufficient protection from misuse or copying.